17th International Meiofauna Conference
MARE (Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre), the University of Évora, together with the IAM (International Association of Meiobenthologists) will host the “17th International Meiofauna Conference” (SeventIMCO), from the 7thto the 12thof July 2019, at the Great Auditorium of the University of Évora. SeventIMCO is a major assembly to present and share advances in meiofaunal research and this year it becomes a historical meiofauna conference, celebrating its 50thanniversary (1969-2019).
Meiofauna plays important roles in freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems. Complex interactions between meiofauna and their environment, including other organisms, create an intricate web of relationships that collectively affect a range of ecosystem processes, including those that are valued by society. The general theme of the conference is “Meiofauna in a changing world: Meiofauna ecosystems processes and innovative methodological tools to translate complex interactions of marine and freshwater ecosystem”. In the light of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, participants are particularly encouraged to consider and discuss the contribution meiofauna studies can make to support management decisions regarding the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and freshwater ecosystems.
This year, 7 keynote presentations, from Jeroen Ingels (University of Florida, USA), Federica Semprucci (University of Urbino, Italy), Sofia Derycke (Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries, Belgium), Michaela Schratzberger (CEFAS, United Kingdom), Olav Giere (University of Hamburg, Germany), Nabil Majdi (University of Bielefeld, Germany), Paulo Fontoura (University of Porto, Portugal), 74 oral presentations and 78 poster presentations are included in the program, which are distributed over 34 countries and 125 corresponding authors. Their contributions are distributed by the following themes, representing emerging topics of meiofauna research:
• Advances in taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography.
• Meiofauna biodiversity patterns and ecosystem interactions (including freshwater,
estuarine coastal and ocean, deep sea and frontiers ecosystems).
• Meiofauna in a changing world: meiofauna response to natural and anthropogenic pressures.
• Methodologic advances in meiofaunal studies: New tools and analytical and experimental approaches.
• Meiofauna and Science communication to Society.
Helena Adão
(Chair of SeventIMCO)
Site: http://www.seventimco.uevora.pt/
Twitter: @ImcoSevent
Email: 17imc2019@uevora.pt